Staging a Protest: Fiction, Experience and the Narrator's Shifting Position in "Las aventurasde don Chipote o Cuando los pericos mamen"Author(s): Paul FallonSource: Confluencia, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Fall 2007), pp. 115-127Published by: University of Northern ColoradoStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27923258 .Accessed: 03/07/2015 19:11Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp .JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. .University of Northern Colorado is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toConfluencia.http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsStaging a Protest: Fiction, Experience andthe Narrator's Shifting Positionin Las aventurasde don Chipote o Cuandolos pericos mamen P?ud>foUorV East Carolina University During the climactic penultimatechapter ofDaniel Venegas's 1928 novel, Lasaventuras de don Chipote o Cuandolos pericos mamen,the Chipotefamily confronts a strong inscription of the distinctionbetween creating an entertaining fiction and addressing difficult realities. Do?a Chipote, withherchildrenin tow, has come after her husband, the title character, from ruralMexicoand finally arrives in Los Angeles. Tiredof searching, she andthe family enter the very theater inwhichDon Chipotesteps on stage in the hopes of winning a five dollar prize andtheaffectionof hisdesired "pelona" (145). Obliviousto his family's presence, Don Chipotebeginscrooning. Whenhis wife recognizes him, she goes on stage andattacks him. Atfirst the audience reacts with pleasure: "a grito pelado,ped?a que les dieranel premio alos que tan bienestaban representando la comediade marido y mujer" (146). Yet whenthe children comeinto viewandit becomesobviousthat thisis no act, thereaction changesradically: "[cuando los hijos] se le prendieronpor todosladosal Chipotepadre y ?ste, por amora sus hijos, se dej?agarrar de su Chipota, entoncesse pidi? que los mandaran a la c?rcel" (146). Asense ofrealismsuitsthis audience just fine, but they did notcometosee live disputes; thus they callforintervention.Sensitivetothe public, the theater managementalready has notifiedthe authorities, who classify the family asMexicanand deport them as illegalimmigrants.1 Since Venegas's novelitself crossedthe borderand was republished in 1984, critics have consistently commented onthe author's identity and on questions of distinguishing fictionsandconcrete experience. Nicol?sKanelloscharacterizesit as "la primera novela chicana"becausehe viewsthe author as identifying withthe "obrero ducano"andbecause the narrator adopts Chicano language andrhetorical style ("Introducci?n"8-9). Kanellos and A.GabrielMel?ndezconflatethe narrator'sandauthor's perspectives as they affirm that Venegasexperiencedepisodes recountedin the bookand"livedthe life of a camello" ("A Socio-Historic Study" 114; Mel?ndez 87). Along similar lines, though more cautiously, othercritics speak of Venegas's "trueintentions"andmaintainthat hehas a "class allegiance" with workers, or that heidentifieswiththem (Mart?n Rodriguez "Textual" 50; 115 This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsBaezaVentura 146). By contrast, AnaPerchesholdsthatthetext "is a Mexicannovel published in the UnitedStates dealing witha chicanotheme (not Chicano)"(29).2 She maintainsthat Venegas criticizes"ch?canos"for betraying their own cultural heritage and that the language ofthe noveldiffers fromthat used by Chicanowriters (27-28). These conclusions, though distinct, takethe relationbetweenthe authorandthework as being inscribedin straightforward fashion, among stable identity options. In affirming such a direct relationship to lived experience, this body of criticism has left unexaminedmetafictional aspects ofthe workthat complicate that linkage. Rather than an easily discernible portrait from a single, homogenousperspective, I argue that the novelreveals a complexity that communicatesa culturaltension of its period, andthat this complexity arisesaroundthe boundariesused to define whatisMexicanand whatis Chicanoin thework.I read the abovementionedtheater scene as helpful to understanding the text as a whole, sinceit reflects back upon the narrativesituationof the novelitself. In that scene, Don Chipote andhis family shift in the audience s view.In a single moment they go from beingperceived asa fictional representation on stage and receiving the audiences acceptance, to being revealedintheirconnective reality and subsequently suffering theaudiences rejection.Reflexively awareofthis dynamic, the narratorself consciously tries to connectwithhisreaders throughout thetext evenas hecriticizes a numberof popular fictions.3 Lasaventurasitself is a theatrical presentation, andin it, the narrator frequently callsattentiontohis artifice, whilealso insistently directing the audiencetoward atruthin his protest. Though Don Chipote is no actor,the narrator performs the multi-faceted, shifting roleof emcee-alternativelydirecting,questioning, addressing and expounding to the audience. Asothercriticshave noted, the workhas important connectionswith Miguel Cervantes'Don Quijote dela Mancha, and with MikhailBakhtin'stheoretical conceptions. Unlike previous studies, myanalysis deals primarily withthenarratorandnarrative technique.4Specifically, Ilinkthe metafictional critiques in Venegas's novelandinDon Quijote andtake up Bakhtin'sdiscussionof the relation between author, hero, andreader. Lasaventuras alternatively mocksitsbuffoonish protagonist andcriticizesthe contemporary U.S. societybycarefully mixing humorandrealistic critique ina testimonial mode.Thework rejects a univocal position and maneuvers among several contexts: Spanish-languageliterary andtheatrical traditions, Mexicanand U.S. political climates, andrural andurban mentalities.Thenarrator'sconstant shifting of position, his manipulation of linguisticregisters, andhis metafictional play makeit difficult to tie the text to any fixed standpoint. Thesefeatures reflect and embody the complexity of the text. In making these moves,thenarrator negotiatesamong the conflicting andunstable allegiances manifestin a group that wasin the difficult process of defining itself during a period of significant cultural change. Thenoveltellsthe story of Don Chipote, an immigrant Mexicanlaborer whois temptedby the tall talestold him by Pitacio, a countryman returned fromthe U.S., and leaves hisrural village in search of work. Accompaniedby his dog Sufrelambre, he makes the difficult trip across the border,and, along with a newfound friend, Policarpo, he gets a job withtherailroad. After working under exploitative conditionsand being treated poorly on the tracks, he injures himselfandis sent to Los Angelesalong withSufrelambre 116 CONFLUENCIA, FALL2007 This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditionsand Policarpo. Therehe recuperates, gets a job as a dishwasher, andbecomes romantically involved with an Angloflapper. Hefalls not only for the pelona, butalsofor the intrigues of shysters andfaith healers. Whilehetries to orient himselfin this new andunfamiliar world, the noveltakes up a secondnarrativethreadthat reveals how Do?a Chipote sells everything andtreks northto find her husbandafter his long silence. Afterthe climactic confrontationin the theater, the story comes full circleandcloses withthe protagonist ruminating over his fate almost exactly asin the beginning, his apparent lesson (the subtitle ofthe book) capitalized for the reading audience: "que los mexicanos se har?nricosen EstadosUnidos: CUANDOLOSPERICOS MAMEN" (155). Changing (Formsof) Address and Messages about Border Crossing Critics positparticular associationsbetween author, protagonist, andreaders based on the significancethey attributeto the lesson they see Don Chipotelearning. Mosthavetended to emphasize a singular morality. Some, such as Urquijo Ruiz (64), Mel?ndez (93), and Kanellos ("Las aventuras' 361), citethe finalline as the principalpoint made.5Perches concurs that the text conveys this lesson, butshe distinguishes this univocal point of view from that of working-class Ch?canos, in part because, for her, the novelcriticizes Mexican emigrants for betraying their culture (28). Manuel Mart?n-Rod?guez, however, holdsthat the moral"shouldnotbetaken literally, sinceitis clearly undermined by Venegass solidarity withthose whohavebeen uprooted fromMexicoandhavebecome permanent' Chicanos/as" ("Textual"49). ThoughMart?n-Rod?guez identifies a more complicated meaning in the text becausehe recognizes more diversity in theChicano/a community that is involvedin producing and receiving the message of the novel, healsofocuses principally on linking the author's perspective withthat of hisintended reading audience.These interpretations oftheborder crossing in Lasaventurasdonotaddressin depth the narrator'sactive role, andit is through the narrator's activity thatmuchof the complexity of the text arises. Thetext undermines any easy alignment of author, protagonist, and reading public as the narrator frequently changes his mannerof addressing the reading public. Asa rule, "the position ofthe authorof a novelvis-?-visthe life portrayed in theworkis in general highlycomplex and problematical" (Bakhtin"Forms,"160), andthenarrator'sand readers'rolesin generating meaning in the text further complicate the picture ("Forms" 256-57). In Las aventuras, the narrative agent makeshis presencenearly ubiquitous, for, as ElenaUrrutianotes:"con cualquierpretexto se introduce en el relato" (36). Yetthe angle fromwhichthe narrative voice speaks is alwayschanging, as his grammar and description alter his relationship to the public. Torefer to his readers, the narratoruses every one of the available pronouns for directaddress: t?, vosotros, usted, ustedes, andnosotros (54;29; 97;42;18). In nearly Brechtian fashion, these changes disturbthe adoption of any single uniform point of view. After describing Don Chipote headedforwork on the tracks, the narrator queries, "Ahora,lectores, aqu? tienena don Chipote caminodeCalifornia. ?Llegar?? T? que te has reenganchado dime, ?le faltar?mucho?" (53). By shifting the referent, the text interrupts a scene,remindsreaders of their own activity in generating the VOLUME 23, NUMBER1117 This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditionsfiction, then more intimately invitesthe readerto compare his/her own experience with the protagonist's. Suchshifts disrupt astatic positioning of author, narrator, and readership andcallinto question the relation between reader, text, and experience. Significantly, the characteristicsof the pronoun referents also change, as the narrator includesandexcludesdifferentreaders'identities.Insome instances, the narrativevoice commandingly includesthereader as part of"we": "[d]ejemos a don Chipote y familia durmiendo" (18). Atothertimes heuses "nosotros"to refer only to himselfas thewriter: "no queremos meternosen honduras y dejamos esta labor a plum?feros m?s aguzados y m?s picudosque nosotros" (23). Laterthe narrator straddlesthe line and usesa less clear "we," so that as heaffirms that "Estos negreros...viven dela desgracia del mexicano_[e]omo la mayor?a de nosotroscruzamos la frontera sin cinco y s?locon esperanzas," heidentifies himselfas Mexican, but may or may not includethe readerin that description (47). In other instances, "nosotros"includesthe reader, if onlyindirectly: "Los que la dibujamos por los famosos EstadosUnidossabemoslo que quiere decirel no haberamartillado y estar bruja y de pronto armarsecon algunasjolas. As?es queya puedenfigurarse el gustoque sentir?an estos pobresparnas..." (92). Herethe narrator does group together reader's and protagonist'sexperiences to emphasize the possibility of understanding and sympathizing withthe problems of being an immigrant. Thus, the narrator continues shifting positions andterms. Laterinthe text, the narrator separates the reader again, while solidifying his own associationwiththe migrant workers:"T?mese en cuenta que los camellosnuncatenemos cuartillaalzada y se ver? que la necesidad nos hace trabajar por lo que nos pagan..." (97).Here, addressed separately and formally as "Usted," thereaderfindshim/herself distanced, whilethenarrator identifieswith workers, andis ableto explain the situationin the first person plural. The text reiterates this identification throughout, as the narrator reveals his own experiences of working on the tracks, receiving substandard pay, and meeting victimsof con artists (63 64;71-72;105). Finally, the narratorassociateshimself more specifically with migrant workers, calling himselfa "chicano," and leaving the readerto take his/her own position: "Pitacio...nosab?anadade ingles y s?losab?a pedir lo que la mayor?a delosch?canos sabemos..." (138). Yetthe term "Chicano"doesnot settlethe critic's identity concerns, sinceitdoesnot havethe same meaning asitdoes today, butrather refers to Mexicanswho had cometo work temporarily inthe UnitedStates (Villanueva393-94). In fact, the narratoruses "Mexican"and"Chicano" interchangeably: "...ten?a que cambiarla fierrada chicana por d?lares, puesque en la estaci?nno quer?an monedamexicana" (139). Toinsist today on distinguishing betweenthesetwo adjectivesimposes an anachronistic differentiationboth on theterms themselvesand on thetext. Thenarrator doesnot distinguish between them, but drawsreadersin to sympathize withthe protagonists as he alludesto common experiences of exploitation and uses bothterms interchangeably. Atthe same time, the narrator's changing referents andstances highlight hisactiveroleand underminestaticidentifications. 118 CONFLUENCIA, FALL2007 This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsThe Language of LasAventuras: RegisteringIdentity or Democracy? Thenarrator navigatesthrough an array of linguisticregisters, intertexts, andtones,and this strategy emphasizesmobility and complexity.Colloquiallanguage full of popular sayings,slang, and bilingualismsaccompaniesjournalisticprose and satirically florid literary descriptions in more formal Spanish.Significantsegments dedicated tothe contemporary theater scenein Los Angeles andto popular corridos appear alongside the obviousDon Quixote references. Broad, often scatologicalcomedy dominates, but scattered momentsof testimonially-phrased narrations effectively makeserious counterpoints. Thisculturaland linguistic variety conveys anease with moving between a numberof contextsin a society neither simple nor homogenous. Somecritics celebratethe breadthofthe discursive mixtureas inclusively dialogic; othersassociatethe distinct linguisticregisters andnarrative style ofthe textwith specific identitiesdescribedin exclusionary terms. Using Bakhtins conception ofthe carnivalesque, GabrielaBaezaVentura ("El aspecto"), Eriinda Gonz?les-Berry and Alfred Rodr?guez ("Lasaventuras"), and Patricia Cabrera ("Dialogismo") see the use of working class vernacular, bilingualism, andallusionsto populargenres as democratizing in nature. Kanellos ("Introducci?n"14), Mel?ndez (89), and Tom?sYbarra-Frausto (157), refer to many ofthe sametraits to argue thetext establishes a Chicanonarrative style. Perches, however, argues that the language in Lasaventuras differs from Chicano speech becausethe novel marksits English wordsin italics, whereas"the useof English in contemporary Chicanoliteratureis eitherthemain language or part of a code-switching andtherefore natural linguistic process whereby italics or quotation marksare not needed" (28). Shealso maintainsthat because"the linguisticpatterns ofthech?canosinthe novelare very differentfromthoseofthenarrator" (27), andbecausesheobserves"the Malinche Complex" in the text (28), it is a Mexican, nota Chicanonovel.6 The language in the novel,however, challengescategorization as simply Chicano or Mexican. Labeling the text "Mexican" proves difficult, for, as Perchesnotes,the examples of'"Chicano'words areMexicanas well, andtherefore not exclusively Chicano" (27). Yet Perches s designation of the novel as not Chicanois also problematic. Whileshemaintains thatthe code-switching in Venegass textis notnatural (as quoted above), as Gonz?les Berry andShaw Gynan note, "code-switching in bilingual literature is first andforemost stylistically and aestheticallydesigned..." (307).Furthermore, Perchess position doesnot take into account whenthe novel appeared, "natural" literary code-switching had no place within canonicallypublishedwriting. Thenovelincludesa great dealofinformal language at a time whento do so was only marginallyacceptable. As Kanellos points out, Venegas had already suffered a critical rejection of one of his worksbecauseof a flexibility of language; a printed accountread"el jurado cr?ticocondenaacrementelalibertaddel lenguaje" (Gabriel Navarroin "Daniel Venegas" 271). Giventhat code-switching hadnot been accepted as a standard literarypractice, andthat its representation, therefore, hadnot been conventionalized, to classify the combinationof registers in the text as definitively Mexican or Chicanowouldbeto impose anotheranachronisticdistinction. VOLUME 23, NUMBER1119 This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsAtthe same time, the narrators manipulation ofthese linguisticregisters andhis pointed use of comic critique limit the democratizing aspects ofthe carnivalesque humor seenin the novel. Specifically, the narratorestablishes a distancebetweenhimselfandthe protagonist that distinguishes andcreateshierarchies.AsPerches observes, whilethe protagonistsspeakonly an uneducated Spanish, the narrator repeatedlysignals his own education by mixing in more formal expression (27-28). In addition, although humor runs throughout the text, the narratordoesnotincludehimself asa subject of laughter. Despite Mel?ndez'saffirmationthat Venegas "is laughing withandnotatthe camellos" (90), thetext takes a moreserioustonethat suggests the narrators "superiority" when recounting situations stemming from his"firsthand" experiences. Unlikethe gullible Don Chipote, the narrator doesnotfall for the consor ruses he hasobserved. Further, whilethe protagonist oftenfollowsorders or resists authorityprincipallythrough evasion, the narrator directly rebels against his own boss'abuses: "Despu?s de estoel mayordomo nos empez? a rega?ar de una maneratan soez que, no pudiendosoportar m?ssus insultosle contest?, me dio un golpe que contest? con otro, y?a volar! perdiendo hastael tiempo trabajado" (63-64). These episodeseffectively separate the narratoras less submissiveand smarter than the protagonists, as heavoids being the butt of jokes. Such a distancecounters the democratizing baseof Bakhtin'sideaofthe carnival:"Carnivalis a pageant without footlights and without a divisioninto performers and spectators. In carnival everyone is an active participant, everyone communesin the carnivalact. Carnivalis not contemplated and, strictly speaking, noteven performed..." {Problems122). Whileoften sympathetic to Don Chipote andthe other workers, the narrator'scommentsabout them, his seriousness, his own testimonial interjections, andthe distinctivenessof hischaracterin those episodes establish a divisionakin tothoseofthe footlights oftheater.Whilethe laughter of carnivalesque humor may be liberating andthe text somewhat inclusive, the narrator does not support a uniformcommunal view, butinsteadsets himself apart in contemplation.7 Insteadof an expression of a singularidentity or a popular will, I suggest that the useof discoursesin Lasaventurasevidences a strategy to shift amongperspectives in order tointerestthe widest possible audience.As Mart?n-Rodr?guez observes, the Mexican American readingpublic is and wasnotuniform ("Textual"). Venegas's novelindicates a consciousnessof these differences, taking up language, humor, andthemes likely attractive to a largerworking-classpublic, butalso adopting a distinct perspective atleast somewhat acceptable to a educatedelite.8 Thedistinctcombinationinthetext allowsbothfor a separation from the protagonist'signorance and gullibility andfor a consistentconnection to be madewiththe workers' plight. Thus, this mixof linguisticregisters, scatological comedy, andtestimonial critique unsettles any easy pigeonholing of his position. Critiquing Fictions:Of Gold-laden Streets, Love Magic, and SacredCactusLand The handling ofthis mix complements the metafictional critique inthe novel.The skeptical stancethat unitesthe bookfromsubtitle to final phrase ("cuando los pericos mamen") points to this principal thematicit shares with Don Quixote: bothtexts challenge widely knownfictions.The Spanishhidalgo has filledhis headwith the talesof the libros 120 CONFLUENCIA, FALL2007 This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditionsdecaballer?a and, in effect, sallies forth to put themto the test (Murillo 13; Haley 163). Popular narratives similarly enchant Don Chipote as heheadsoutto fulfill the promises of easy money hisfriend Pitaciohas painted for him. Thesefictions spur the protagonist s journey and provide the impetus for the plot ofthe novel. Thenarratorunderlinesthat suchstories havecan powerfulnegative effects onanentire nation. "[M]?squepor las malascondiciones en que la revoluci?nha puesto al pa?s," he affirms, peoples beliefin thosestories forms the cause "por lo que cadad?a se despuebla m?s y m?s" (23). Thus, the text lambastesthe exploitative working conditions facing Mexican immigrants as a means of dispelling the pervasive myth of getting rich quick. Yetthe metafictional critique in Las aventuras, asin Cervantes' novel, addresses a numberoftales. Just as Don Quixote findshimself manipulatedby others as they constructnarratives involving himfor their own entertainmentand gain in thesecond volumeof the Spanish text (Haley 164-65; Allen 3; El Saffar Beyond, 82-85), in the latter half of Venegass bookDon Chipote confrontsthe fabrications newcomers facein the big city. In Los Angeles, the protagonist meetsa lawyer whoconvinceshimto go forward with a work injury suit against the train company, andthen never hearsfromthe lawyer again (104-05). The "pelona," Don Chipotesflapper coworkerandextramaritallove interest, leadshim onto havehim spend money on her (119). Inthe hopes of gaining her affections, heconsults with a curandero, who charges an exorbitant fee, but only deceives him withnonsensicalincantations (119). Though the gullible hero uncriticallyaccepts eachofthesestories as true, the narratorsees through allthe falsehoodsand points them out clearly tothereader. Thismetacriticismoffictions comesto theforeinthe confrontationbetween Donand Do?a Chipote at the theater.Theframeworkof a staged performance is interrupted in such a way that artifice and reality are brought into question. Theclimactic sceneI described atthe beginning ofthis articleechoesDon Quixotes intercessioninthe puppetplays of Maese Pedro, whichitself hasbeen interpreted asa mise-en-scenethatreflects back upon the narrative positioning in Cervantesstext (El Saffar "Distance"; Haley).Venegass novelraises questions aboutsuch positioning earlier, whenDon Chipote first happens upon a show soon after leaving the hospital. Heenters the darkenedhousecuriousbutfearful. Yet just asstoriestoldin the darknessentertain SanchoPanzaandthe Spanishknight errant in the Cervantesclassic (Vol. I 241?244; Vol. II 350-51), the fictionalnarrativesandthe comfortof otherscalm Don Chipote. The narrator, however, maintainsa critical eye towardthe theatrical performance that follows the movie:"nuestrosartistassostuvieronun di?logocallejero, que a la fecha en que lo pon?anpor novedad, ya losab?an hastalos ni?osde pecho" (111). Thenarrator affirms, further, that asitdidfor the shyster, the flapper, andthe curandero, self-interestmotivates the trite, nostalgic show:"la palomilla dec?micos que la vacila enlos Estamos Sumidos, sabe que la chicanada se pone de puntas cuandole ponenpor enfrente algo que le recuerde susanta nopalera y, comoes natural, esta flaqueza se la explotan por todoslados" (111). Despite this criticism, the narrator implicates himself as a participant in this fictionalizing: "Mislectores me perdonar?n que me haya dadoesta sacada, para darles aconocerentre azul y buenasnochesel ambienteteatral dela ciudadde Los ?ngeles; pero si lo hicefue para darles oportunidad alos c?micos que se quedaran bailandoel jarabe, que lo acabaran y a la vez que se quitara la polvareda que las patadas sacabandelas rendijas deltablado" VOLUME 23, NUMBER1121 This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions(111). Withthis declaration, the narratorboth places himselfatthe level of the story (he speaks whilethe others dance as a service for the performers) and apart from that story (as he critiques the performance anddirectshimself tothe audience), taking up the role of emcee for the show.9 The same critique the narrator directstowardthe narrative manipulations of others points to the constructionof his own textual discourse. Ostensibly intended to revealthe plight of theMexican immigrant workerin theU.S.and to signal the fictive baseof instant success stories, the novel begins andendsin a setting that offers no better an option for Don Chipoteeconomically, and no better an option for the reader verisimilarly.10 Thetext opens andcloses withthe sameharmonious pastoralimage oftheMexican countryside, with Don Chipote working his fieldsbehindhis yoked oxen. The imagesstrongly recall the criticized nostalgia ofthe "santa nopalera': "Elsolse ocultaba en el ocaso y las nubes pon?anse coloradotasalrecibirla postrera cariciadela cobija delos pobres..." (155). Further, the distinctlyliterary register of these passages causes the conceitto stand out. As Mart?n Rodriguez notes,"Mexicoandlife inMexicoserve only as a frame for the novel. (49). ElenaUrrutia suggests the scenes present a bucolicvisionreminiscentof a nostalgic song(36), whileKanelloscharacterizesthe language inthese framing sectionsas "altamenteliterario y florido" ("Introducci?n"13). Such a fictive baseshouldnot surprise readers, sincethe narrator admits early on he never intended a strong doseof reality: "muy larga ser?a la labor de presentar realmentela vidadelosmexicanosenlos Estados Unidos, y sobre todo, nosotros, no queremos meternosen honduras" (23). Evenasit countersthe lies told by those returning from working in the U.S., the text constructsits own obviously fictive image of home, sweet home. Thus, Lasaventurasfollows Don Quixote in using fictions to critique fictions.While Cervantes'stext commentson chivalric romances? emphasizing the needto recognize their status as fictions, even while creating one (Haley 164)-, Venegas's novelcriticizesthe stories of unqualified success recounted by the returning workers through Don Chipotes invented misadventures.While constantlyexposing thefalsehoodsbehindthestories PitaciotoldDon Chipote, thenarratoralsorevealsanotherreason behindthese falsehoods?theneedfor help andthe desirefor a good story. As they arrive homeatthe endofthe novel, brokeand without a job, the Chipotes themselves donot challenge the townspeople'sassumptions based onthe successstories "sabiendo que si los desenga?aban y manifestaban que iban en la bruja,dejar?an dehacerlesfiestas y ayudarles" (153). From the climacticscenein the theater, the Chipotes learnedthat an audiencedesires a certain amountof fiction, and they enacttheir own performance for their fellow townspeople. Of course, as the curtaincomes down on the stories of easy successin the U.S., the Chipote family findsitselfbackin the just as artificially constructed setting of theMexican pastoral frame. Thetext effectively undercutsthe fictions on bothsidesofthe border evenasit explains the desiresand motivationsthat drivethose creations. Asa remedy tothosefictionalconstructs,and as counterpoint to the dominant comedietone and language in the work, the text dispenses accountsthe narratorclaimsto have experienced first-hand.These episodesgenerally sharetwo distinguishing characteristicsin additiontothe use of first-person pronouns: they introduce a shift in emphasis from narrationto description, andfrom past to present tense. For example, after 122 CONFLUENCIA, FALL2007 This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditionsnoting that the protagonist and hisfriends get in line for a job, the text generalizes about their difficulties to speak of others experiences: Paralos habitantesde ElPasoes cosa corriente ver a cualquier horadel d?alas peregrinaciones de paisanosque.. .se dirigen o, m?sbien dicho, les dirigen a la estaci?ndeuni?ndelos ferrocarriles. Paralos que hemos pasadopor estos trances, es triste y doloroso ser el punto devista delos transe?ntes que, muchas veces hastaburlastienen para los que, obligadospor la necesidad, recurren a las oficinasde reenganche (51). Whilethe comically narratedeventsremainin the past, the text places a numberof these moreserious passages in thereaders present,using static verbsof having and being to convey ideas of certainty and stability (23, 45,48,63,71,104-05,111,119). The more formal expression andthe seriousnessin the episodespresented as testimonialslend added weight tothetruthclaimsinvolved. Further, the use ofthe present tensefor other descriptivepassages (28, 32, 37, 39, 53, 83-84, 89, 97), forfolk sayings (40, 83), and for some "commonsense" generalizations?"Todos saben que los m?s flojos son los m?s habladores" (21)?reiterativelysupports that samesense of verisimilitude by affirming the continuedexistenceof acceptedknowledge. Moreover, byfrequentlyforegrounding the comedy and not letting solemn topics take over, the text encourages its readers to consider the more uncomfortablerealitiesthat might otherwisebe rejected, as the Chipotefamily wasin the theater. Thus, the consistent comedy andthemetafictional critique in the text enhance, asa clear counterpoint, the tenoroftruthfulnessinthe passages that are presenteddistinctly as first-person,eyewitness narratives.11 Carefullycontrolling the relationaldistancebetween reader, protagonist, andnarrator, and agilely moving from the comicto the serious allowthe text to present an engaging fiction, a metafictional critique, and a sharp protest for the readers' contemplation. The dynamicsarising from the theatrical climaxandthemetafictionalelementsof the novelalsoafford areflection on the critics' readings of the text itself.AsLouisGerard Mendoza observes, Chicano/acritics haveuseddifferent cultural expressions, like Las aventuras, to function as "factual"counterhistoriesofMexicansand MexicanAmericansin theUnitedStates (18-26).Thus, Kanellosaffirms that: "the'historicized' Daniel Venegas comesto usurp the firstlevelofthe narrativeand wrests historicity away from Don Chipote andhis companions. Without a doubt, the painfulreality of abuseand injustice were more important to the authorthan the fictiveworldhe was creating" ("Introduction" 7). Thetheater audience rejected the Chipotefamily drama whenit becametoo real, but rather than reject the elementsof reality he seesin the work, Kanellosembracesthem and minimizesthe importance ofthe "fictive" constructions.In depicting the perspective on that reality as Chicana (or, alternatively, Mexican), criticsrehearsethe tendency that George S?nchezhasnoted among Chicano/a historians, that of developing a "bipolar modelof opposing cultures" (7). WhileI agree that the workrelates a difficulttruth of immigrantexploitation, I also concur with Mendoza'sviewof bothliterature and history asconstructions (20-21), andI argue that the "inventions"in Venegas's text bolsterthe effectiveness ofthe truth claims made. Specifically,through itsmetafictional critique, the VOLUME 23, NUMBER1123 This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditionstext contraststhose claims with popular fictionsand uses comedy and colloquiallanguage to makethe difficultsituation palatable toan audiencethat might otherwisenotbe interestedin such unpleasantunderlying truths. Ratherthan an exclusively Chicano/a or Mexican perspective, the complexity ofLasaventuras suggests a negotiation ofthe conflictingallegiances S?nchez argues that many facedinthe process of "becoming MexicanAmerican"in the1920s. In reflecting the pressures of a societal momentof change, amomentwhenidentities werein flux, thenarrators trajectory of changing identificationsand perspectives challenges the stable identity labelsandconcomitantnarrativescritics havebeeninclined to place upon the work.Thedistinct metafictionalcombinationin Lasaventuras de Don Chipote reflectsthe conflictingallegiances involvedinthatera, allowing bothfora separation from the protagonist s ignorance and gullibility andfor a consistentconnection to be madewiththe workers' plight. Thenarrator's manipulation of identity associations and linguisticregisters plays outover multiplepositions, as hevaries his relationship with the reader andthe subject of narration, as well as the relationship betweenthesetwo.In addition, the fictional framing ofthe self-consciously textualized main storyline is placed over the backdrop ofa decidedly fictionalized image of Mexicoas homeland, andcalls attentiontotheconstructionofeachofthese discourses, therebyresisting a fixed preference for oneover the otherand pointing to the artificiality of both.Ratherthan lessenthe veracity oftheclaimsaboutsocial problems inthe novel, this metafictional critiquestrengthens thoseclaimsandallowsthe seriousnessof present problems to stand out amidstthe comedy of the narrated past. Whileothercritics attempt to lodge the same protest that the novel announcesin one particularlyinterpreted place or another, I hold that thework self-consciously"stages" its own protest, pointing to aset of realities even as it dances about, finely wrapped in fiction. Notes hereinafter, I willrefer to Lasaventurasdedon Chipote o Cuandolos pericos mamenas Lasaventuras. 2Perches distinguishes between"ch?canos" ("a Mexicanwho immigrates tothe United States") and Ch?canos (the term "emerging in the1960s to designate AmericansofMexican descent")(36). 3Becauseof hisself-identification assuchinthetext, I willrefer tothe narratoras male:"loshombresnos atenemosa las viejas" and"el que estoescribe" (61;63). 4Many havereferredtothe Quijote and/orBalduinsworkto characterizeLasaventuras.Criticshavenoted the parallelisms withthe Quijoteregarding names ("CaliforniaDreamin"; Kanellos "Introducci?n; Mart?n Rodr?guez "Textual"; Urquijo Ruiz), structural correspondences(Gonzales-Berry and Rodriguez), and concernsoverinternalcolonization (Childers). Analysesreferring to Bakhtin'sworkhaveunderlinedthe carnivalesqueaspects and/orthe dialogism ofthe novel (BaezaVentura;Cabrera; Gonzales-Berry and Rodriguez). 5Thetranslatorofthe Englishlanguage editionofthe novel, EthriamCash Brammer, extendsKanelloss interpretation ofthe importance ofthisline.In chapter sevenofthe novel, Don Chipote and Policarposing a corridoinwhich they claimto haveseen many odd things, and, according to Kanellos, "seentiende que nuncahanvistoun perico mamar" ("Las aventuras" 361). Though the Spanishlanguage versionofthe corridoitself doesnotcontainthis line, Brammars translationofthe noveladdsthe idea, asthe protagonist sings, "ButI'veneverseena parakeet breast-feed" (64). Thisalterationmadetothecorridoconnectsthe title, middle, and ending ofthe work, andreinforcesthat particular ideaasthe moralofthe story. 124 CONFLUENCIA, FALL2007 This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions6Withtheterm"theMalinche Complex," Perchesrefers to aMexicanintellectual tendency that usedthe figure ofthe indigenous woman Malintzin, who helped Hern?nCort?s conquer the Aztec empire, to critique those perceived to beculturaltraitors. Becauseshe perceives thatthe narratorcriticizes"ch?canos" for cultural betrayal, Perchesmaintains Venegas s novelisMexican.In characterizing the novelas Chicana, Kanellosshowsa similarlylinguistically and culturallyexclusionary idea. Though hesees Venegasexpressing the ideology of preserving Mexicanculture elsewhere, hecontraststhatidea withthe expression in Las aventuras: "Venegas, while advocating the protection ofMexicancultureandthe Spanishlanguage, chose to adopt Chicano speech.. .inDon Chipote..." ("Daniel Venegas" 272). Mart?n-Rodr?guezgives an excellent critique of imposing suchdivisivedefinitions on Chicanos/asand Chicano/aliteraturein hisbook Life inSearch of Readers. 7Thetext alsodistancesthereadersfrom Don Chipote and Policarpo, asit repeatedlyemphasizes the pair s illiteracy and consequentdependency on others (30; 39; 63; 72; 92;138; 144). 8Venegasexpressed awarenessofthe perceived conflictbetween populartopics andintellectuals' orientation, characterizing the combinationofthetwoasa duty. Kanellosnotesthat alongsidereports on boxing,Venegas affirms:"Los periodistas deben ponerse consu agrupaci?n al frente delas dem?ssociedades mexicanas, como guiadores haciaun porvenir deafectivasolidaridad y verdadero patriotismopara todoslos exiliados" (cited in "Daniel" 272). Whatlittleis knownabouthis workindicates Venegas chosetotake up topical themessuch as boxing,migrant work, and jazz, even though healsoriskedcensurefromcriticsfor the "liberties"hetook with language (as noted above). In hisbook Becoming MexicanAmerican (particularly in Chapter 5, pages108-25), George J. S?nchezoffersan insightfulanalysis ofsimilar conflicting values enacted by the Los Angeles MexicanAmerican population ofthattime. 9PatriciaCabreras analysis of dialogism andcarnivalizationin Venegas s noveldoestouch upon the narrators roleandcoincideswithsome points Imakehere.She maintainsthatthe narrativevoice expresses "sarcasmo y el distanciamiento, ala vezir?nico y solidario"ofthe pachuco in LuisValdez'sZootSuit (171). She proposes thatlater study determinewhether"si ya desdela ?poca de Venegas exist?aenla escenaun narrador, conunafunctionclaramente did?ctica; osila figura deese pachuco es unaestilizaci?ndel conductorenelteatrode variedades, o delc?micodela lengua" (178). Shealsocharacterizesthe novelas "unaobradetransici?n" (177). WhileI agree withsomeof herassertions (for example, in describing the workas signaling societal change and noting the importance of theatricality in the text), I argue that her characterizationofthe narratorasa "pachucoincipiente"presents a similarly restrictive, though unclear, identity label (171).Cursory referencestoValdez'sfilmcharacterandthe stereotypicalportrayals established by OctavioPazandSamuelRamosformthe basisof Cabrera'scharacterizationofthe narrator as a savvy, urban proto-pachuco. YetCabreraalso injectsambiguity intothis depiction whenshe signals that the narrator parodies the principal characters' buying the very clothing"que a?os despu?s ser?la imagen de marca del pachuco" (171). Rather than try to clarify and/orisolate a specificidentify for theauthorand narrator here, I maintainthatthe narrator's shifting of position revealsa numberof contendingloyalties, which speaks bothtothe complexity ofthe workandofthe contextfrom whichit arose. 10Thefact that, beforehis wife'sarrivalin the climactictheaterscene, Don Chipoteenjoys relativesuccess strongly undercutsthethesisthatthe novel unequivocally focusesonthe difficultiesof migrants in the U.S. Afterthe protagonistrecuperates a whilein Los Angeles, thetext affirmsthat he "pesc? camellocomo lavaplatos enunrestaurant y all?lotenemos muy biencebado y con algunos d?lares en el bolsillo" (118). His problems atthe endofthe novel (of being hitandreturnedto Mexico) arise principally becausehedoes notattend properly to his family,spurring his wife's trip north (123). Theconsistent commentary on characters' loyalty (Sufrelambre to Don Chipote,Policarpo and Don Chipote to each other, "ch?canos"to the Spanishlanguage and amongst themselves,etc.),suggests thetext directsitself lesstoideasof nationalismthanto a developing transnational community. nChon Noriega's mentionofthetruth claimsasrhetorical strategies informs myargument here (xxix). In this respect, I would align myargument withwhatIseeas part ofan emergingtendency to attendtothe rhetorical strategies involvedin Chicano/a writings, asobservedin studies by Noriega, Louis Mendoza, LeticiaM. Garza-Falc?n, and Doris Meyer. VOLUME 23, NUMBER1125 This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsWorksconsulted Allen,JohnJ. "The Narrators, the Reader, andDon Quixote." Don Quixote: Heroor Fool?PartII. Gainesville:Uof Florida, 1979. 1-15. 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Childers, William. "Chicanoizing Don Quixote." Aztl?n28.2 (2002): 87-117. El Saffar, Ruth S. "Don Quixote Part II." Beyond Fiction:The Recoveryof theFeminine in theNovels of Cervantes.Los Angeles: Uof California P,1984.81-126. -. DistanceandControlin Don Quixote: A Study inNarrative Technique. NorthCarolinaStudiesin the Romance Languages andLiteratures147.Portland, OR:International Scholarly Book Service, Inc.,1975. Garza-Falc?n, Leticia.GenteDecente:ABorderUnds Response to the Rhetoric of Dominance.Austin:Uof Texas P, 1998. Gonzales-Berry, ErlindaandShawN. Gynan. "Chicano Language andLiterature." Dictionaryof Literary Biography: Chicano Series, 82.Eds.Carl Shirley andFranciscoLomeli.Detroit:BruccoliClark Layman, 1989.304-08. -and Alfred Rodr?guez. "Lasaventurasde Don Chipote: delo quijotesco alo carnavalesco."Cuadernos Americanos55 (1996): 110-17. Haley,George. "TheNarratorinDon Quixote: MaesePedro's Puppet Show." Modern Language Notes80 (1965): 145-65. Kanellos, Nicol?s."Lasaventurasdedon Chipote, obra precursora dela novelachicana." Hisp?nia 67.3 (1984): 358-64. -. "Daniel Venegas."Dictionaryof LiteraryBiography: Chicano Series, 82.Eds.Carl Shirley and FranciscoLomeli.Detroit:BruccoliClark Layman, 1989.271-74. -. Introducci?n.Lasaventurasdedon Chipote o Cuandolos pericos mamen. By Daniel Venegas. Mexico City: SEP/CEFNOMEX,1984. 7-15. -. Introduction.TheAdventures of Don Chipote: WhenParrotsBreastFeed. By Daniel Venegas. Houston:ArteP?blico, 1999.1-11. -. A History ofHispanic Theatrein theUnited States: Origins to 1940. Austin:UofTexas P, 1990. -. "A Socio-Historic Study of HispanicNewspapers in the UnitedStates." Recovering the U.S. HispanicLiterary Heritage. Vol.1. Eds.Ram?nGutierrezand GenaroPadilla.Houston:ArteP?blico , 1993.107-28. Mart?n Rodr?guez, ManuelM."ANetMadeof Holes":Towarda Cultural History of ChicanoLiterature." Modern LanguageQuarterly 62.1 (2001): 1-18. -. Life in Search of Readers: Reading (in) Chicano/aLiterature. Albuquerque: Uof NewMexico P, 2003. 126 CONFLUENCIA, FALL2007 This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions-. "TextualandLandReclamations:TheCritical Reception of Early Chicana/oLiterature." Recovering the US.-HispanicLiterary Heritage. Vol.2.Eds.Eriinda Gonz?les-Berry andChuck Tatum.Houston:ArteP?blico, 1995.40-58. Mel?ndez, A.Gabriel."Camellando enlos EstamosSumidos."Reviewof Lasaventurasdedon Chipote o Cuandolos pericos mamen by Daniel Venegas.Bilingual Review13.3 (1986): 87-93. Mendoza, LouisGerard.Historia:The Literary Makingof ChicanaandChicano History.College Station, TX: TexasA&M UP, 2001. Meyer, Doris. Speakingfor Themselves:NeomexicanoCultural Identity andthe Spanish-Language Press, 1880? 1920. Albuquerque: UofNew Mexico P, 1996. Murillo, L. A.ACriticalIntroductiontoDon Quixote. NewYork:Peter Lang, 1988. Noriega, ChonA.ShotinAmerica: Television, the State, andtheRise of ChicanoCinema. Minneapolis: Uof Minnesota P, 2003. Perches, Ana."Nide aqu? ni deall?:The Emergence oftheMexicano/ChicanoConflict." Paperpresented at "HispanicExpressive Cultureand Contemporary PublicDiscourse"Seminarat Southwest Hispanic ResearchInstitute. Albuquerque: UNewMexico P,1994. Rosales, EArturo. "Spanish-Language Theatreand Early Mexican Immigration."Hispanic Theatreinthe UnitedStates.Ed.Nicol?sKanellos.Houston:ArteP?blico, 1984.15-23. S?nchez, GeorgeJ. Becoming MexicanAmerican: Ethnicity, Cultureand Identity in ChicanoLos Angeles, 1900-1945. New York:Oxford UP,1993. Urquijo Ruiz, Rita."Estudioonom?sticodelos personajes en Lasaventurasdedon Chipote o Cuandolos pericos mamen."Nerter5?6 (2003): 64?67. Urrutia, Elena.Reviewof Lasaventurasde don Chipote o Cuandolos pericos mamen. Esquinabaja 1 (1987): 36. Venegas, Daniel.Lasaventurasdedon Chipote o Cuandolos pericos mamen.Mexico City: SEP/ CEFNOMEX,1984. Villanueva, Tino. "Pr?logo: Sobreelt?rminochicano.'"Ch?canos: Antolog?a hist?rica y literaria. Comp. TinoVillanueva.M?xico:Fondode Cultura Econ?mica, 1980.7-34. Ybarra-Frausto, Tom?s. "Rasquachismo: AChicano Sensibility." ChicanoArt:Resistanceand Affirmation, 1965?1985.Eds.RichardGriswolddel Castillo, Teresa McKenna, and Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano. Los Angeles:Wight Art Gallery, 1991. 155-62. VOLUME 23, NUMBER1127 This content downloaded from 189.223.10.9 on Fri, 3 Jul 2015 19:11:13 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions